Summer Love, Or Is It?
by Miss.Bliss808
Summary: Sexy military student Dimitri comes to stay in Richfield for the summer with his aunt. There he meets Rose in an unexpected bike accident. Will love blossom between the two? Or will it be just another summer fling. All Human.
1. Chapter 1

**New story… YAY!**

**This one is all human, hope you like it!**

**Disclaimer for the whole story:**

**I do not own the characters; Richelle mead does**

**I do not own the places and story line; Jeanine Le Ny does**

**Characters in this story are OOC**

"Lissa, I can't go with you to Bella Island. It's my dog, Rocky. He… he's come down with, um, _scurvy._"

Rose Mazur stared intently at her reflection in the mirror, hoping to make the excuse _somewhat _believable. No such luck.

She glanced back at the healthy brown mutt sprawled on her bedroom rug happily chomping on a squeaky plastic shoe. So what else was Rose supposed to say? That her parents had suddenly -at the last minute- decided that, at age sixteen, she wasn't _mature_ enough to go on a fabulous vacation without them? Which, in all honesty, was the main point. To go _without_ them.

Rose whirled around to lean on the white dresser attached to her mirror and let her gaze fall across the overstuffed navy duffel on her royal-blue coloured bedspread. It was all zipped and sausage-like,

ready to be lugged to the resort island where pretty much everyone from Richfield Academy for Girls would be lounging for the summer. That included her good friend Lissa Dragomir, who had invited Rose to stay at the family 'cottage' complete with maid, cook, and personal Pilates instructor.

"I can't _believe_ they waited until this morning to tell me," Rose muttered, getting angry all over again.

It was bad enough that Rose and Lissa- and the rest of the girls at the Academy, for that matter- came from alternate universes. Rose didn't live in one of the grand historic homes of Richfield or on a sprawling estate just outside the village like her classmates did. Instead, Rose resided on Pelican Island, which was famous for, well, _pelicans_, and for commercial fishing, not to mention the faint stench of gutted sardines.

The thing was, Rose could survive without having the whole Paris Hilton lifestyle going on like her friends, but why _couldn't _she spend a couple of weeks away from her family? It's not as if Rose, aka Miss A-student-who's-never-seen-a-day-of-detention-_ever_, had given her parents a reason to disturb her. No, as far as she was concerned, an excuse about a dog with scurvy was far less humiliating than admitting to her parents' overprotective insanity.

"Rosie! You'd better get going if you want to catch your friend at the dock!" her seventeen-year-old brother, Mason, yelled from somewhere downstairs.

"It's _Rose_!" Rose shouted back. And it had been for two years, though Mason- along with the rest of her family- hadn't seemed to notice.

Rose gave Rocky a quick pat on the head before thudding down to the family's small, sunny kitchen. She found Mason standing in front of the fridge in his pajama bottoms, taking a swig from the orange juice container. His twin, Eddie, was perched on the green counter and making that annoying _Ummmm, Ummmm_ noise as he wolfed down a huge bowl of cornflakes.

Eddie, a man of few words, glanced up at Rose and let out a belch in her direction.

"Nice," Rose commented, swiping the OJ from Mason, who smiled, then ripped one in her face. "_Mmmuuuurrrrp!"_

_Ew. Sour juice and onions. _Rose wrinkled her nose.

"Can't you guys wait until I'm gone before you release your noxious fumes?" she asked, reaching around Eddie to grab a glass from the cabinet.

"Consider yourself lucky I passed on the second helping of cauliflower last night," Eddie responded. He shoved a spoonful of cereal and began to chew. "Ummm, ummm…"

"_I_ didn't." Mason clenched his stomach dramatically. "Uh-oh. You'd better get out of here, Rose." He doubled over "Oh, ohhhhhh…"

"You're disgusting!" Rose cried and darted outside through the side door. Hysterical laughter erupted from inside the kitchen, along with several fake farting noises.

Rose rolled her eyes, knowing this was it: this was her summer right here in all its glory. She turned to leave the house.

"Rosie, hold up." Mason opened the old screen door and stretched in the doorway. "I almost forgot. Mom and Dad want you to go by the store after you say good-bye to your friend."

"Yeah, okay," Rose said. They probably wanted to ground her for her 'attitude' this morning. But who could blame her for being in a bad mood?

"See you later," she told Mason, who released the screen door with a slam.

Rose trekked through the grass past the colourful lilies Dad had planted on the side of their house, then down a short path to the side-walk. It wasn't long before she was crossing the small concrete bridge that led to the mainland. She passed underneath the two enormous gray open-winged, open-mouthed pelican statues that could be considered either welcoming or disturbing, depending on hoe you saw the world. An arched sign poised between the pelicans read WELCOME TO PELICAN ISLAND, which always struck Rose as funny since nobody from the mainland ever traveled over that bridge and the people Pelican seemed to like it that way.

Once on the other side, Rose took a sharp right, passing the round blue-and-white Bella Island jitney ticket booth, and headed down the long crowded pier toward the ferry. She spotted Lissa in the distance, leaning casually on a rail in cute white shorts and a matching tank with her long blonde hair pulled into a sleek ponytail.

"Hi, Lissa," Rose said approaching.

"Hey, girl. My bags are already on the boat."

Lissa slid her enormous black sunglasses to the top of her head and spied Rose's empty hands.

"Where's your stuff?" She searched behind Rose, probably looking for a porter or something. "I have some bad news Liss." Rose took a deep breath and spilled it. "Abe and Janine changed their minds. I can't go."

"What?" Lissa gasped. "But we have the whole summer planned. Pilates every morning, tennis and Tuesdays and Thursdays, pool hopping and the beach club every other day… and how am I supposed to flirt with the hotties from Berkley Prep if I don't have my best friend to back me up?" she asked, swinging her shiny ponytail over her shoulder for emphasis.

Rose loved the fact that Lissa had no clue about how gorgeous she was and that every boy with a pulse at Berkley probably had a crush on her.

"Somehow I think you'll manage," she replied. Lissa shook her head.

"It's not right. You're going to miss everything. Why did your parents change their minds?"

Rose briefly considered the scurvy excuse. "Does it really matter _why_?" she said instead, which, she had to admit, came out sounding rather mysterious and cool.

"I guess not." Lissa sighed and sagged her shoulders. "This is _so_ unfair. Maybe I could talk to them." she brightened. "You know how good I am with the guilt."

This was true, but Rose knew better that to pull the manipulation tactic on her parents.

"No thanks. It'll only make things worse, believe me." Lissa twisted her ponytail around the finger of her right hand.

"I don't even want to go without you, but Mother's expecting me. I'll bet she makes me hang out with my cousin, Muffy, all summer now that you won't be around," she added with a slight pout. "She doesn't like to subject strangers to the torment, but she has no problem making_ me_ have to suffer through it."

Lissa had a tendency toward the dramatic, but Rose zeroed in on the cousin's name. "Tell me you're kidding. Your cousin's name is_ not_ Muffy!"

She laughed.

Lissa laughed too. "No, no. Not really," she admitted. "It's just my personal nickname for her."

"Oh?" Rose asked. "Do I want to know_ why_?"

"See for yourself," Lissa remarked and nodded down the pier.

As if on cue, a girl about their age with curly blonde highlights twisted into a bun on the top of her head bounced down the planks, her baby pink tennis skirt flicking side to side.

"Oh, hi-yeeee, Lissa!" Muffy cried, waving. Rose watched Lissa's cousin quickly buzz in and around the crowd like a hyperactive bee as she made her way toward them. Lissa was so casual and easy going, it was hard to believe the two were even related.

"She's definitely _energetic_."

Lissa replied by heaving another sigh just as Muffy reached them.

"Hi, girls!" Muffy sang. "Hope you've been practicing your tennis if you want to win a game this summer, Lissa." She put her hands together and did a little mock swing, then gave Rose a friendly wink.

Lissa plastered a fake smile onto her lips. "Sure have cuz."

"_Awesome!"_ Muffy said enthusiastically. "Well, I guess I'll beat you to the window seat. See you on the boat! Byeeeee!"

"She's sooo hyper," Lissa complained. "I think I need a nap."

"I feel for you," Rose said, watching as Muffy bounced and chatted her way to the boat.

"But I still don't get why you call her…" And then, as Lissa's cousin turned to step onto the ship's entrance ramp, Rose noticed it. From the back the bun kind of made the poor girl's head resemble a gigantic banana-walnut muffin.

"Ahhh, I see… Shouldn't you say something to her? I mean, she _is_ your cousin."

"I've tried," Lissa admitted. "But apparently the Muffstress saw the hairstyle during Fashion Week in New York and convinced that I just don't want her to look good." She rolled her eyes. "And don't let that bubbly exterior fool you. The girl is completely fake. And seriously competitive. About everything. Ugh! This summer is going to reek!"

"Tell me about it," Rose added, thinking back to her brothers and how they'd pretty much turned teasing her into a team sport.

The ferry horn sounded and Mr. Oliveri, a weathered deckhand who lived around the corner from Rose shouter, "All aboard! All aboard to Bella Island!"

As the crowd of polo-shirted men and women is straw hats pressed forward on the entrance ramp, Lissa gave Rose a big squeeze.

"I'm going to miss you so much!"

"Me too." Rose hugged her back. She really was.

"Promise to call or text me as soon as anything juicy happens?"

"Totally," Lissa said racing up the ramp and boarding the boat just in time. "You too, ok? She called. "See ya!"

Rose nodded and waved as she watched the jitney start its two-hour journey across to Bella Island. She stood there long enough for the pier to clear out and the din to fade except for the squawking of a few stray pelicans circling above the water, looking for breakfast. _Now what?_ She wondered.

She must have seemed pretty pathetic standing there by herself because old Mr. Oliveri came over to console her.

"Don't worry kid," he said patting her shoulder. "Bella Island is only a ferry ride away." But to Rose, that ride might as well have been a transatlantic cruise.

**Is it good? I am typing the next 2 chapters at the moment but I need to know if I should continue or not.**

**Please let me know by your reviews! :P**

**~Leah**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello again!**

**REMINDERS: In this story, Janine and Abe are married so of course the family name is Mazur. Also they are part Italian instead of Turkish; it just fits in better with the story… as you also know that the characters in this story are OOC. There is also a certain someone than you will meet in this chapter *wink wink*!**

**Also! some of you have reviewed saying that you have already read this story, and that's true. It's still me, Roza-Forever, but I decided to change my name. I also accidentally deleted the story so i had to re-upload, so sorry for the inconvenience.**

**Hope you like chapter 2!**

As the Bella Island ferry grew smaller and smaller on the horizon, Rose knew she couldn't put off the confrontation with her parents forever. Then again, now that they'd all had some time to cool off, maybe she could_ reason_ with Mom and Dad. Maybe she could get them to change their minds again and to let her catch the next boat out of there. Okay, so it was doubtful, but hey, the least she could do was give it a shot.

Rose strode back up the pier toward the Pelican Island Bridge and passed a group of retired fisherman chatting as they cast crabbing cages off the side rail. Just as she came upon the Bella Island ticket booth, she heard a burst of female laughter.

"Oh my God. Adrian is so hot!" a girl cried out.

Rose slowed her pace, immediately recognizing the voice of her former best friend, Mia Rinaldi. She stole a glance into the booth for confirmation. Uh-huh. Mia's blonde hair was cut into a funky bob- a lot shorter than Rose remembered it being- but it was definitely Mia. She was leaning on a counter, cooing over a picture (of Adrian, Rose assumed) as her newish pals from P.I. High, Camille Conta and Tasha something-or-other, looked on.

Rose guessed that they'd all gotten summer jobs at the ticket booth and it seemed as if they were having a blast together.

What felt like a gooey lump of pizza dough swiftly lodged itself into Rose's throat. She knew she shouldn't let it get to her after all this time, but still, she and Mia had been almost sisters since the first day of kindergarten, when they both arrived in Miss Gratenger's class wearing the same ugly purple plaid dress. They'd played on the monkey bars together, leaned on each other when their homes felt too crowded, giggled about first crushes.

Then, at the end of eighth grade, Rose won an academic scholarship to Richfield _Academy_ and, shortly after freshman year rolled around, Rose's friendship with Mia was dead. Done. _Finito._ The truly sad thing about the whole scenario was that, although Rose had had her suspicions, she didn't _really _know what horrible thing she'd done to make Mia and the rest of Rose's old school crowd cut her off. Like a bad breakup, it was never explained. It sort of _happened_. And now…

"_What_ is she looking at?" Camille asked loudly from across the pier.

Rose gulped, realizing that her inconspicuous glance had kind of turned into a stare. Mia tore herself away from the picture, glanced at Rose, and shrugged. Then Tasha spat out, "What's your problem, Mazur?"

"Um, nothing," Rose mumbled. The sound of mean laughter stung as Rose made a quick left and crossed back onto Pelican Island.

_Great. The summer is finally looking up,_ she thought sarcastically. Maybe she _should_ have taken Lissa up on her offer to guilt-trip the parents.

A few blocks later she found herself in the front of the Italian Scallion, the Mazur family's deli and catering service. The bell above the front entrance tinkled as she pushed open the lace-curtained door and stepped inside. Her dad had his favorite _Swingin' to the Oldies_ CD playing out of the stereo speakers, as usual.

Eddie was already working behind the glass counter, slicing up meats and filling catered lunch orders, while Mason chalked the daily specials onto a giant blackboard hanging on the wall. Abe Mazur turned from preparing the old-fashioned cart that housed several different varieties of olives, which could be bought for $3.99 per pound.

"Eh, there she id!" he said with his thick Italian accent. He opened his arms as he bopped to the beat of a Frank Sinatra tune.

"What? You're not gonna give your papa a kiss?"

Rose maneuvered around a towering biscotti display to plant a peck on his chubby cheek.

"Sorry for blowing up at you and Mom this morning," she said.

"We know," ha said, adjusting the long stained apron that stretched across his belly. "You're in high school now. You just wanna be with your friends."

His tone surprised Rose. It was softer than it'd been earlier. Understanding almost. The perfect mood for her plea. "Speaking of which-" she began. "Rosie?" Mom appeared in the doorway that led to the kitchen. Petite and thin, Janine Mazur clicked around the deli counter in her usual uniform, high heels and a tiny mini **(this is a dress btw)**. This one was leopard print. Mom had a great body. Not to mention _awesome _legs.

"Hey Mom," Rose said

"Let's sit down honey." Mom led the way to the small table by the window where most of our major family discussions were held.

"Your father and I need to talk to you about something. All right baby doll?"

Uh-oh. She sounded serious… and _nice_, which was unusual for Rose's no-nonsense mom. Maybe this wasn't about the morning's argument.

"Is Grandma okay?" she asked cautiously.

"Of course, your grandma's fine," Dad replied, then turned to Rose's mother.

"Do you want to tell her or should I?"

"Tell me what?" Rose asked, looking back and forth from parent to parent. What was this all about?

"Well, your father and I know how disappointed you were about Bella Island, and we now that you're getting older and wanting to do new things-"

"Fun things," Rose's father cut in.

_Fun?_ Rose broke out into a grin, getting the hint.

Her parents had actually discovered the error of their ways and had decided to let her go to Bella Island- no reasoning (or pleading) required! Her heart thudded in anticipation as she wondered which bikini she'd wear to the beach first. The barely-there black string or the blue halter with the boy shorts?

"_Go on,_" she said, prodding them to get it out so she could run home and grab her duffel bag.

"Well, what could be more fun than to work with your mama and papa at the store?" Dad asked grinning. "Am I right?"

_Wait. What? No!_ Rose thought. Was this some kind of joke? She glanced around the shop, hoping that Mason and Eddie were trying to punk her with the new video camera. Unfortunately Mason was now busy cleaning the espresso machine and Eddie was shoving a wad of American cheese into his mouth.

"We knew you'd be surprised," Dad went on. "Your brothers didn't start until they were seventeen, but we think you're ready." He turned to Mom. "Right Janine?"

"You bet," Mom replied, nodding. "You'll get minimum wage to start, just like your brothers did."

Rose opened her mouth to protest, then snapped it shut. What was she supposed to say? _Uh, sorry folks, slicing salami may be fun for you guys, but it isn't exactly my idea of a good time?_ No, she didn't have the heart for it… _and_ she wanted to live to see seventeen.

"Besides," Mom added with a knowing look in Rose's direction. "Since you wont be spending the summer on Bella Island with Lissa we thought you'd want to keep busy," which, if translated into mother-daughter language- meant: _Don't even think about bringing up Bella Island again, and you'll be working here so we can keep an eye on you 24/7._

_It's a done deal,_ Rose thought bitterly. _So much for reasoning._

Dad rubbed his hands together, then circled one arm around Rose and the other around Mom.

"I'm so glad we have the whole family working together; what a fantastic summer it will be, no?"

Both parents were beaming proudly now, as if starting work at the deli was some sort of weird passage into womanhood, and there was nothing Rose could do except to say, "I cant wait to start."

TIME BREAK

"Yeah, it's Rose, Rosie, the Roseirator… slicin' _turkey_… makin' a _sannndwich… _Rossssssse." Eddie said the next day, grabbing a stack of paper cups from the cabinet while Rose moved a slab of honey-roasted meat through a spinning cold-cut slicer.

"_You _are a dork," Rose said, grinning and pointing a plastic-gloved finger at her brother as he crossed to the coffee counter.

"Actually, this isn't so hard," she told Mason, who was supervising her push and pull the turkey along the blade. Perfect circles of paper-thin meat slipped put from the bottom of the machine.

"I could do it with my eyes closed. See?" she shut them and continued slicing.

"Come on Rosie, Cut it out," Mason warned her. Rose opened her eyes.

"That's funny. _Cut it? _Get it? Isn't that what I'm doing?" she laughed at her own sorry excuse at her own joke. Then she felt the blade nick her index finger.

"Owww!" She swiped her hand away and the meat bounce onto the tiled floor.

"Geez!" Mason pulled her to a nearby sink and snapped off her gloves.

"I _told_ you to be careful," he said, running cool water over her fingers. She winced as she watched pinky-red fluid circle down the drain. Eddie ran over with a bottle of disinfectant. He immediately sprayed down the machine and the stainless steel counter.

"What happened?" Dad came running out from the kitchen holding a spatula, his apron covered in tomato sauce.

"Rose had a little accident." Mason reported. He inspected her fingers. "She's got a nice gash here. She's lucky, it could have been worse."

Rose squirmed at the thought.

"Give me a break," Eddie said, swiping up the turkey from the floor. "First she burns herself making steamed milk for Dad's cappuccino, then she cuts herself opening a can of crushed tomatoes…"

"Don't forget the incident with the bleach," Mason added, gesturing to the white splash marks at the bottom of Eddie's blue jeans.

"How could I?" Eddie rolled his eyes. "I mean, come on Rosie. Didn't you grow up in this deli with the rest of us?"

Rose blushed as she inspected the U-shaped cut on her wrist and the little burn mark right underneath the hem of her denim mini skirt. It was all true. Every word. Granted, today she had a bit more responsibility that her 'kid jobs' of stuffing napkin holders and filling bagel bins, but when did she become such a klutzy freak?

Dad glanced at the clock hanging over the doorway to the kitchen. It was noon.

"Rosie, maybe you should take the day off."

"No Dad," Rose replied. "I want to make this work."

Last night while unpacking her duffel she'd decided that she was really going to put forth at the deli. After all, there was no use sulking about Bella Island anymore. She had to make the best of the situation. Besides, her parents were counting on her.

"I'm all yours," she said, pressing a paper towel to her wound. "Just as soon as I stop the bleeding."

"That's my girl," Dad smiled. "She don't give up."

Rose followed her father into the kitchen, where he was frying up a batch of chicken cutlets, then headed back to the office for the first aid kit.

"_Again?"_ Mom asked when she saw Rose rooting through the white metal box on top of a file cabinet. "Are you okay? Let me see."

"I'm fine," Rose said. She plucked a bandage from the box and handed it to her mother. "Just not so good at cold cuts."

Mom stood from her desk in a short black skirt, a royal blue blouse with a three-inch-wide leather belt completing the outfit. "I'm sure we can find something for you to do," she said, wrapping Rose's finger. "But it probably shouldn't involve sharp objects. Or hot things."

"Agreed," Rose said, though that didn't leave many options.

"How's your math?" Mom asked. "Maybe you can help me with inventory and accounting."

"Okay, I guess," Rose told her, but inside she was thinking, _Please, please, puh-leez let there be something else for me to do. _Rose had nothing against her mom, but she didn't want to spend the entire summer pushing a pencil around in a cramped office.

"Hey Pop!" Eddie called. "We've got to get these deliveries out, but Mason needs help filling the other orders. What should I do?"

_Yes! _Rose thought. "I can help!" she called, smoothing down her Italian ScallionT-shirt and looking to her mom for approval. Mom nodded, and Rose ran up two steps and into the kitchen.

"I'll do the deliveries Dad."

"Good idea," he said flipping a bread cutlet. "You can use the new bike. Eddie, you go help Mason."

"Why does _she_ get the job with the tip potential?" Eddie asked clearly disappointed. "Why ant she make sandwiches?"

"Because." Rose playfully wiggled her bandaged finger under his nose. "_I_ can't be trusted with knifes."

"Whatever." Eddie pushed her hand out of the way and marched into the store, and Rose went out back to get the bike.

She found the three-speed silver cruiser in the shed off the side of the stores gravel parking lot. A large white wicker basket lined with red-and-white cotton made the thing seem cute and girly. _Eddie should probably thank me, _Rose said to herself. _No way would he look cool in front of the ladies with this ride. _She hopped on and pulled it 'round front where Mason was waiting with an armful of sandwiches, a list, and some small bills for change.

"The job is simple," he said. "You bring the sandwiches to the people and they pay you. But you've got to be fast. No more than twenty minutes a run. Got it?"

"Yup." Once the basket was filled with sandwiches Rose was on her way. Luckily all of the deliveries were concentrated on the other side of the bridge, which was where the Scallion made most of its business.

Rose glided over Pelican Island Bridge and zoomed past the jitney ticket booth as fast as her legs would pedal hoping not to run into Mia. She thought Richfield would have been dead with so many people off on Bella Island but that was far from the case. Although only staff mostly occupied the estates in the summertime, the town itself was flowing with tourists who came for the beautiful maritime museum as well as the local artists' galleries and antique stores dotting the main streets.

Rose rode the bike onto the Main Street side-walk, parking it in front of Gilded, a jewelry shop that specialized in expensive handmade pieces. She ran inside with a tomato-and-mozzarella with fresh basil on ciabatta, and a salami, provolone, and arugula wrap.

"Italian Scallion," she said holding up the sandwiches.

A salesgirl handed her fourteen dollars.

"Keep the change," she said with an intense stare, as if she were doing Rose a huge favor.

_Ooh. A whole thirty cents, _Rose thought. "Thanks," she said on her way out. She found the next drop-off on her list and hopped back onto the bike.

_This is great,_ Rose thought as she pedaled down Main Street enjoying the fresh breeze sweeping in from the bay. _Much nicer than being stuck in Mom's office all day. _She lifted her face to take in the sunshine, glad to be outside, when her cell phone rang. She grasped for it in the bike's basket. "Hello?"

"Hey. It's Eddie. Where are you?" her brother asked.

"On the way to my second delivery," she replied.

"That's _it_?" he said as if she hadn't left the deli practically thirty seconds ago. "You should probably do better than that if you want to keep your job. Dad says that I can try deliveries if you're not fast enough. And the orders are piling up over here. Rose rolled her eyes. "Dream on Eddie. You're not getting my job… _or_ my tips," she added knowing it would bug him, and hung up. The money wasn't exactly worth fighting over but Eddie didn't know that. And what was with him anyway? She wondered pedaling a bit faster. Why was he being so annoying about this? It wasn't as if she'd ever be a huge help to Mom and Dad behind the counter like he was.

"Hey, look out!" someone yelled.

_Huh?_ Rose glanced up and spotted some unsuspecting boy about her age wearing a black fitting T-shirt and a baseball cap in her direct path. She swerved quickly to the left, just missing him. "Sorry!" she called back to him.

The boy removed his hat, exposing chin-length brown hair. Even from this distance Rose could see his gorgeous brown, bottomless eyes. They were big and round and surprised-looking.

_Oh my God, he's so hot,_ she thought, _and I almost killed him!_

He pointed in her direction. "Hey!"

"Sorry!" Rose said again, mortified. _Could I feel like a bigger loser? _She wondered just as her front wheel skidded on a patch of wt pavement. A second later Rose came crashing down to the ground. Her skirt flapped up to her waist, exposing her peach-coloured briefs with the hula-girl pattern that she _knew_ she shouldn't have worn.

Sandwiches scattered across the sidewalk in all directions.

Apparently, she could.

**T****here's chapter 2 for ya!**

**Just to make things clear: Dimitri is the same age as Rose**…

**Thanks to the people who reviewed my first chapter… they were all warm fuzzies so I'm happy!**

**~Leah**


	3. Chapter 3

**chapter 3! ^.^**

Red-faced, and with the surprising agility of a ninja, Rose rolled to her feet in an instant, though she knew it was useless since the hot guy, along with the rest of Main Street, had seen the humiliating accident.

"You okay?" the boy asked rushing over. "That was some fall."

"Me? Oh I'm fine." Rose said tugging at her skirt. She tried to play it off by picking up the sandwiches as if nothing had happened-as if she hadn't just flashed him in her hula panties.

She spotted some mani-pedi ladies staring out the window of a nearby salon.

"Move along. Nothing to see here," she said, flicking her hands at them, but the ladies kept staring. _Oh God, why is this happening to me?_ She silently screamed.

"You sure you're okay?" the guy asked, inspecting the U0shaped cut on her arm.

"Oh, this?" Rose glanced at it. "I had that before. I'm fine, really. It probably looked worse than it was." She chuckled nervously.

The hottie gazed at her with what Rose considered to be the deepest, darkest eyes on the planet, which happened to contrast with his chocolate brown hair and light tan.

_Come on, think of something witty and clever to say to him, _Rose told herself "Ummmmmmm…"

Unable to come up with _anything_, let alone something flirty, she glanced away shyly as she finished gathering her stuff. She shoved the bundle of sandwiches into the basket and picked up her bike. It had a scratch or two on it, but nothing major.

"So, I guess you're delivering sandwiches," the guy piped up.

"Huh? Oh, right. Uh-huh. Maybe you want to order sometime. I'm sure there's a menu around here somewhere," Rose replied, fully aware that she was now babbling. She began to search the pile of sandwiches and found a flyer at the bottom. As she tugged at it, a hoagie toppled out of the basket.

"Whoa!" the boy tried to catch it, but it fell to the sidewalk with a splat. That was when Rose noticed he was holding a leash, which was attached to a tiny orange Pomeranian, which now had a big yellowish-brown squirt of honey mustard matting the fur on top of its head.

The boy laughed. "Aunt Tatiana is not going to be happy about that.'

"Oops!" Rose threw the leaky sandwich into the bicycle basket, grabbed a pile of napkins, and attempted to wipe off the dog as it yapped and nipped at her fingers. "Sorry!"

"Forget it," the boy aid, crouching down and taking the napkins from Rose. As he did this he smiled and Rose smiled back, feeling a weird and exciting energy ping back and forth between them. her stomach suddenly felt as if a hundred butterflies had decided to get together for a game of tag in there.

"Well, I've got to get Button back to my aunt," the boy said, gesturing to the Pomeranian and turning to leave.

"Wait!" Rose cried a little too loudly. She hoped that it didn't come off as slightly psycho. The boy turned back and Rose handed him the menu.

"You forgot this," she said. Then, in a bold move, she added, "My name's Rose, by the way. What's yours?

"Dimitri," he said.

Not knowing what else to do, Rose casually gazed back into the window of the nail salon, where the women inside seemed to have lost interest, thank_ God._ She waited a few more seconds to see if Dimitri had anything to ask her. Like maybe if he could have her number or something.

Dimitri sort of coughed and shoved his hands into his shorts.

_Why isn't he asking?_ Rose waited a few more seconds. _Maybe he's shy,_ she told herself. _Maybe you should just ask_ him_ for _his_ number._

Why not? This _was_ the twenty-first century after all. Okay. She'd go for it. In three… two… one…

"Um, Dimitri, I … I …" _I can't do it!_ She thought, chickening out.

"I guess I'd better finish my deliveries. . . ." she paused, giving him a chance to talk.

"Oh. Right. No problem," he said, walking backward. "It was really nice meeting you, Rose."

He tripped over Button's leash but recovered nicely.

"Heh, heh." He grinned nervously and waved. "By Rose.

She liked the way he said her name a lot.

"Bye."

Rose smiled again and waved as Dimitri headed down Main Street with Button, really wishing she'd had the nerve to get his number. He was so adorable and sweet. She wouldn't mind seeing him again.

No, she wouldn't mind it at all…

**This chapter was kinda rushed so im sorry if its a bit short.  
Thanks to everyone who reviewed, favorited and followed my story! 3**

**Review! :P**


	4. Chapter 4

Two days later the sky was blue and cloudless and the scent of sardines barely noticeable as Rose pedalled her first deliveries toward the Pelican Island Bridge. Her phone rang it the tune of a spunky salsa beat and Rose bobbed her head to a few bars as she checked the screen. _Cool,'_ she thought,_ a text from Lissa. She _pulled to the side or the road to take a look.

**'Helllllp! Muffy strks again! What up w/u?'**

Rose laughed, imagining how Lissa's annoying cousin was torturing her friend. She keyed a quick message with her news:

**'Met hot boy.'**

She pressed SEND and her phone rang almost instantly. She glanced at the screen. Lissa, of course.

"What's his name? What does he look like? When are you going out?" Lissa babbled as soon as Rose picked up.

"It's Dimitri. He's really cute in that chin-length-manly-hair kind of way, and I don't even know if he likes me yet. I'm on a quest to find out...and to get his digits. I'll keep you posted."

"You'd better," Lissa said.

"And I hope you're wearing that cute whit mini that shows off your legs. That'll get his attention."

"You think?" Rose asked, glancing down at that very skirt. She didn't want to admit that yesterday and today she'd put on extra-hot outfits hoping to run into Dimitri. Needless to say, her mom had been pretty happy to see Rose in a skirt again, but now that Rose had it on she wasn't so sure it was a good idea. And maybe she should have left the kitten-heeled slides in the closet too, even if they were fabulous. Oh well.

"Ugh, here comes Muffy with her tennis racquet," Lissa whispered.

Rose. Heard a scuffling sound, then a soft thud.

"Where are you?" she asked.

"Towel hut," Lissa whispered. "I can't play another game of tennis, Ro. We just got here and she's already wiped the court with me six- oh, gotta go!" 'Click'.

Rose almost felt sorry Lissa, but not quite. _At least things are looking up on my end,_ she thought, flipping her phone shut and hopping back on the bike to begin her deliveries. She was bound to run into Dimitri again sooner or later.

By the time she'd reached the end of her twelfth run without a single Dimitri sighting, Rose resigned herself to the fact that it was probably going to happen later rather than sooner.

As she pedalled across the bridge back to Pelican Island her mind raced with thoughts about the cute boy with intense eyes. She wondered who he was. A tourist? She'd never seen him before but then that didn't mean anything.

She didn't know every guy in Richfield and/or the surrounding area. But then again, if he did live around here he'd probably be vacationing on Bella Island with everybody else.

Rose glided to a halt in front of the Italian Scallion and parked the bike against the building.

_So if Dimitri's a tourist, that means he'll be leaving by the end of the summer at the latest,_ she said to herself.

She shook her head. _'What are you doing Rose? You don't even know if he likes you and you're already stressing about when he's leaving?'  
_  
She decided to think about the way he said her name_. Rose, Rose, Rose...  
_  
"You wanna talk to _who_?" Rose heard her Dad saying into the telephone when she entered the shop. "My daughter? Why? Who is this?"

Rose gasped. She knew exactly who it was! Or, at least she _'hoped' _she knew. It made sense now. Dimitri didn't ask for her home number because she'd already given him her _work _number - on the menu! Clever guy.

"I'll take it. It's my friend," she told her father, who handed over the phone, then disappeared in the kitchen.  
"Hello?" She said into the receiver.

"Uhhhh, is this Rosie?" A boy's gruff voice said over the line.

"Dimitri?" She asked, though now she'd heard him she wasn't so sure. At the same time she wondered_, How does he know about Rosie? He knows me only as Rose.  
_  
"Yeah, that's me," the guy breathed. "Want to go out tonight? I hear you're an awesome kisser."  
Girls giggled in the background.  
"Shhh!" someone said through the laughter.

Now she knew it wasn't Dimitri. "Who is this?" she demanded.

"You know," the guy said through a snicker. "Danny."

The girls cackled louder right before Rose slammed the phone into its cradle on the wall. "What jerks!" She muttered.

Mason walked by with a case of soda on his shoulder. "Who's a jerk?"

Couldn't she have a second of privacy? "Nobody," Rose replied, though she had a feeling she knew who was behind the prank call. With no Caller I'd on the store phone, she picked up the receiver again and dialled *69 to see if she could find out who was playing with her. She jotted down the recorded number and then dialled it.

"Bella Island Jitney!" a girl answered with a sing-songy tone. "How may I help you?"

Rose slammed the phone again. "Jerks!"

"WHO?" Mason asked again, this time from the drink refrigerator.

"Nobody!" Rose cried and stormed to the door of the shop. On the way out she heard Eddie ask Mason, "What's her problem?"

Oh, Rose had a problem all right. Three of them: Mia, Camille and Tasha. And she knew how the game went down. She couldn't just let this prank go unchecked.


	5. Chapter 5

Rose marched across the bridge, heading straight for the jitney ticket booth. She tried to figure out what she was going to say along the way, but before she knew it she was there.

Camille's mouth dropped open when she saw Rose approaching. She nudged Tasha, whose nose was buried in a fashion magazine. Behind them was a tall lanky boy with a ton of acne who, Rose suspected, had been the one put up to make the call.  
_The mastermind must be in the back somewhere, _shethought as she approached the booth.

"Get Mia out here," she demanded to no one in particular.

"Did somebody say something Camille?" Tasha asked, flipping a page of her magazine.

"I did," Rose replied, planting a hand on an article about how to get perfect abs. "Get Mia," she repeated.

Mia came walking up behind Rose with a gigantic Big Gulp in hand - probably Mountain Dew, which was her drink choice. She seemed surprised and annoyed that Rose was there and shot her a dirty look.

"What is 'she' doing here doing here?" Mia asked her friends.

"As I'd you don't know," Rose muttered. She turned to confront the girl. "Aren't you a little 'old' for making prank phone calls Mia?"

"Huh? I don't even know what you're talking about," Mia said.

"Give me a break. I traced it back to the jitney booth, and I know you made 'him' do it for you." Rose gestured to the boy with acne. Hearing this, the boy slinked out of the booth into a back office.

"Don't flatter yourself," Mia replied. "I wouldn't waste the quarter on you. And besides, I just got here anyway."

"Oh 'really'." Rose gazed at Mia to see if she was lying. The girl was wearing a pair of denim shorts and a navy-coloured tank top. Her jitney polo shirt was slung over one shoulder, and she was seriously staring Rose down without so much as a twitch of and eyelid. She 'could' be telling the truth, Rose guessed. Then she began to think that maybe coming there wasn't such a good idea, but there was no way to turn back now without looking like a complete idiot.

"Well 'somebody here pranked me." Rose focused one Camille and Tasha who smirked at her.

"'So'?" Camille said, then proceeded to crack up.

Tasha seemed to find this funny too, and giggled like a hyena.

And Mia just stood there, which irritated Rose even more than the phone call had. "Thanks a lot Mia. I'll bet you gave them my number," she said. "You know, I thought we were friends once."

"Whatever," Mia said, rolling her eyes.

"Yeah, 'whatever'," Rose repeated. This wasn't getting her anywhere. She turned to storm off but accidentally twisted her left foot off of its kitten heel, knocking her off balance...and into an unsuspecting Mia.

"Whoa!" Mia squeezed her Bog Gulp hard as she stumbled to the ground, popping off the lid and releasing a thick stream of Mountain Dew.

Rose winced as the greenish-yellowy liquid arced a path toward the jitney booth, then soaked the counter along with everything on top of it and everyone behind it. Camille and Tasha squealed in horror, resulting in an angry manager emerging from the office.

"Sorry Mr. Alto!" Mia said, rushing to the booth, which, Rose believed, was her cue to leg it out of there.

She made a quick pivot and headed to the bridge. When she reached it she looked back at the ticket booth. Mr. Alto was now waving his arms angrily as he scolded the girls, and Rose kind of felt bad for them. She didn't want them to get into trouble at work, just not to call her anymore.

By the time Rose arrived back at the deli she was mentally exhausted. It had been a tough day and she couldn't wait to go home and crawl underneath her cozy blankets.

"Oh, wait a second," Mason was saying over the sound of Dean Martin singing "That's Amore."

"She's right here. Hold on." He held out the phone to her. "It'd for you. Some guy. Says he's a friend of yours?"

Rose felt an angry fire well up inside of her. After all that, she could not 'believe' Camille and Tasha had the nerve to make that guy prank her again! They must be having a big laugh right about now.

She grabbed the phone from her brother.

"You'd better not call ma at this number again buck-o!" she shouted into the phone.

"'Buck-o?'" Mason walked away, snickering.

"Um, Rose?" The boy said. "Sorry. I-I didn't know you'd be mad about it."

Rose gulped, her stomach fluttering into knots, because this time she recognized the voice.

"Dimitri?" She asked. "Is that you?"


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey everyone.. I know that you probably hate me because I haven't updated in so long.. But it will change.. Iv'e put all my other stories on hold until this one is finished.. I will be updating this story every week.. I hope you enjoy and again, I am sooooooo sorry! :/**

Rose gripped the phone tightly to her ear. "Sorry i bothered you," she heard Dimitri say. "I'll go."

'No wait. Dont hang up," Rose quickly replied. "i thought you were somebody else." She leaned against the deli counter and pushed back some stray hairs that had slipped out of her ponytail.

"So, um, what's up?" she said, trying to sound normal. Inside she was freaking out. _He called me!He actually called me! I can't believe he called me! _She thought over and over.

"So, do you want to go?" Dimitri was asking.

"Huh?" She must have missed it. "Go where?"

"For a walk," Dimitri said. "My aunt wants Button to get some exercise and I don't really know where to take her. Do you?"

"Sure. There's a nice dog run in Richfield Park," Rose told him. "I'm just about finished with work. I'll run home and get my dog too. Okay?"

"Great," Dimitri said. "How about we meet up by that bridge in, like, fifteen? You know the one with the bird statues on it."

Rose would rather they didn't, but she also didn't want to get into the whole my-new-worst-enemy-works-near-there-and-I-don't-want-her-and-her-nosy-friends-to-see-me-meeting-up-with-a-cute-boy thing. so she said, "Okay. see you then!"

She hung up the phone and sighed, unable to process the fact that she'd just made a date with hot Dimitri. Then she wondered if she could call dog-walking an _official _date or if it was considered only hanging out. Oh well. No time to work out the intricacies. She only had a few minutes to get ready! She called to Mum and Dad, telling them that she was going home.

"Was that the jerk you were talking to?" Mason stopped her on the way out.

"Who?" Rose asked.

"You know. The guy on the phone. _Buck-o!_" He laughed and poked her in the arm. "So when are we going to meet this Buck-o guy, huh?"

Eddie trotted in through the front door, holding a box of paper napkins with ITALIAN SCALLION printed on them. "Who's Bucky?" he asked.

"Some kid with a bad overbite?" He laughed at his own joke.

Not that Rose had alot of boyfriends- okay, not that she;d had _any_- but if she had, _this _would be the reason why she would _never_ have brought any of them around the house. "Shut up," she told her brothers, and left.

As soon as Rose got home, she raced up the stairs to her room and tore apart her closet for the perfect outfit: something that said playful and casual, yet sophisticated and sexy. three changes, four ponytail redoes, and one armpit sniff test later, Rose had decided on a pair of cute denim capris, a whitewashed khaki graphic tee, and letting her natural dark brown waves fall to her shoulders. A spritz of body spray and a swipe of strawberry lip smacker and Rose was out the door.

"Oops! I need a dog." She ran back inside and grabbed the leash that was hanging on a hook in the foyer. "Rocky!" She found him snoozing underneath the kitchen table, and shook the leash.

"Come on boy. let's go for a walk."

Rocky opened his eyes, then closed them again. Apparently he wasn't in the mood.

"You're coming with me whether you like it or not," she said, crawling underneath the table and snapping the leash onto his collar. "Let's move it puppy!"

It took a few tugs of the leash before Rocky cooperated and trotted alongside her to the bridge.

Still on the Pelican Island side, she spotted Dimitri standing at the opposite end with his back to her, clearly expecting her to be coming from the other direction. She liked the look he was going for with the simple T-shirt and baggy shorts with a long chain hanging from his belt loop and disappearing in his side pocket, probably attached to his wallet.

"Hey," she said, coming up behind him with Rocky in tow.

Dimitri turned, and Rose wondered if she should greet him with a kiss in the cheek or a handshake or what. she settled on a safe little wave.

"Hey Rose." He was holding the little fluffy Pomeranian in his left hand. a pink bow was tie at the top of Button's head to keep the orange fur out of her eyes.

Rose glanced at Rocky, all grey and shaggy and slobbering on her right foot. "Ew. Rocky!"

Dimitri smiled as he tilted his head. "Your dog's name is _Rocky? _And you work at a place called the _Italian Scallion_?"

Rose shrugged. "My dad's kind of obsessed with Sylvester Stallone. I'm just lucky my mum stopped him from calling me Adrian," she added with a slight shiver. "Now, that would have been _really_ weird. Can you imagine me as a kid, playing with my friends, and having my dad call me to come home?" She framed her mouth with her hands and imitated the main character in _Rocky I, II, III, _and _IV, "Adriaaaaaan!" _

Dimitri laughed. "You're pretty funny. Actually, pretty_ and _funny," he added.

_So, he thinks I'm pretty, _Rose thought, feeling her stomach do and excited flip. _This is good._

"You're pretty _corny,_" she said, playing it cool and teasing him a little. "I like that in a guy."


	7. Chapter 7

PREVIOUSLY:

_Dimitri laughed. "You're pretty funny. Actually, pretty and funny," he added._

_So, he thinks I'm pretty, Rose thought, feeling her stomach do and excited flip. This is good._

_"You're pretty corny," she said, playing it cool and teasing him a little. "I like that in a guy."_

"Good," Dimitri said with a friendly grin. "Hey, I didn't know you were from the island," he said, gesturing to the two stone pelicans hovering over the center of the bridge. "I've never been over there. Should we take the dogs that way?"

"I don't know." Rose hesitated for two reasons. 1) Everything was way nicer in Richfield than on Pelican Island, and 2) if her family saw her with Dimitri she'd surely have to answer a ton of questions about him. And it was kind of nice to have something all to herself for once - at least for a little while.

"The dog run in Richfield is _so_ awesome," she hinted. "We don't even have one on Pelican. I usually take Rocky to this tiny run-down beach."

"The beach? Cool!" He seemed so excited about it.

"It's not an actual _beach, _per se. Only a little sand really," Rose said, hoping to discourage him, but it wasn't happening.

Dimitri was already walking toward her side of the bridge. He stopped to place Button on the ground and the dog immediately whined until she was picked up again.

_Oh, well. Just go with it,_ Rose told herself and stepped beside him. "Your aunt's dog isn't much of a walker, is she?" she asked, glancing at the fluffy pup in his arms.

Dimitri smiled. "Not really. Button here spends most of her day hanging out in a pink tote bag." He scratched behind the dog's perky ears. "I would have brought it along, but it didn't go with my outfit."

Rose laughed and let Rocky run ahead of them but reined him in when they reached the edge of the bridge. She'd decided to take a different route to the beach so they wouldn't have to pass by the deli.

"I told you, it's not much," Rose said, when they'd arrived. Scattered driftwood and hollow horseshoe-crab shells dotted the dark pebbly sand. A couple of old rotted piers, minus their walkways, jutted into the sea. She un-clipped Rocky's leash and let him go for a run at the water's edge.

Dimitri set Button on her feet. She seemed afraid to move at first, but eventually trotted through the sand after Rocky with her head and tail held high.

Rose perched on a large piece of wood and watched the dogs play. "So, what do you think of my little island?" she asked just as the sea air blew a gust of fish scent up from the ocean.

"It's, um, _fragrant,_" he admitted and sat next to her.

"Tell me about it." Rose wrinkled her nose. "There's a lot of fishing going around the island. See that?" She pointed up at a flock of four pelicans swirling above the water. the large grey-and-white birds circled one, two, three times before nose-diving into the water, then emerging one by one with fresh silver fish in their beaks.

"Wow, that's-" Dimitri said.

Rose raised a hand to stop him then pointed. "Wait for it..."

A moment later a half eaten fish suddenly plopped out of the sky and onto the wt sand just out of reach of the lapping sea. then, seemingly out of nowhere, ten to twenty tiny white birds scurried across the sand to peck on the leftovers.

"Whoa. It's, like, so_ Discovery Channel _out here," Dimitri said, staring at the scene.

"Yeah," Rose agreed. "Who needs cable when you've got all this?" Feeling a bit more comfortable, she leaned back, propping her elbows in the sand letting her legs hang over the driftwood.

Rocky was now being chased ny a yapping Button and heading this way. "Rowwwwlf!" he barked, and jumped into Dimitri's arms, tackling hum into the sand.

"Hey!" Dimitri laughed, and petted the sandy and slobbering Rocky until the dog was satisfied, while Button continued to yap and yap.

"I think Rocky likes you." Rose tried hard not to giggle as Dimitri sat up, brushing sand from his head and shirt. When he was finished he leaned back next to Rose and Rocky trotted around to sit on her other side.

_That's a boy, Rocky. Good work, _she thought, ruffling the shaggy fur on her dog's head. Then she turned to Dimitri. With his body only inches from hers, she wondered if he could hear the thumping of her heart. She also wondered if maybe she shouldn't have passed on the gum after eating that egg-salad sandwich for lunch.

Dimitri rolled onto his side, facing her, and said, "I like being here with you, despite the stench."

"By _stench _you mean the fish, right?" she asked. _tell me I didn't say that out loud,_ she silently prayed. Judging by Dimitri's amusement, however, she knew that she had.

"You're hilarious," he said, cracking up.

Rose decided to hold off on the jokes for a little while in the interest of information-gathering. "So what's your story?" she asked him. "What brings you to the lovely Richfield?"

Dimitri shrugged. "My parents are sailing around the world on their yacht and I'm staying with my aunt until school starts up again."

Rose doubled over in laughter. "No, seriously," she said, trying to stop herself.

"Seriously," Dimitri said. He didn't seem to be joking.

"Seriously?" she asked, just to be sure.

Dimitri nodded. "They've been, so far..." He looked up to the sky as if he were trying to remember. "Three and half months."

"So, they trust you enough to stay home alone?" she asked, barely able to comprehend it. Pretty much the only time Rose was alone was when she was in the bathroom, and even then it wasn't long before somebody was pounding on the door to get in.

"Not exactly," Dimitri responded. "I go to a military school in Parkchester, two towns away." He brushed his hands over his chest. "Haven't you noticed my sexy abs?"

"Uh-huh, very nice," Rose commented with a smile. She squinted, trying to visualize Dimitri looking totally cute in his dress blues. Suddenly a barrage of questions popped into her head, such as: Why was he going to military school? Did he miss his parents? Where did his aunt live? Did he want to go out on a date _without_ the dogs? But she started with the basics. "Any brothers or sisters?" she asked.

"Nope. Just me," Dimitri said. "How about you? What's your family like?"

Rose let out an exasperated sigh. "I've got two older brothers. Twins. Eddie and Mason. them drive me _crazy!_ My parents, you already know, own the Scallion, and we all work there. I'm the delivery girl extraordinaire."

"Sounds fun," Dimitri said.

"It's okay." Rose paused. "I was supposed to go to Bella Island for the summer but my plans changed at the last minute." She wasn't sure why she added that last little tidbit. Maybe it was because with parents who circled the world by sea, Dimitri clearly had a more interesting and glamorous life than she did.

Dimitri nodded knowingly. "Yeah. Aunt Belikov's been trying to get me to chill over there, make some friends, but it's not my scene, you know? Besides, who would keep my aunt and this little one company?"

Rose watched him gently stroke Button, who had now wedged herself into the crook of his arm and was snoring softly. "Awww. She's sweet."

Dimitri looked up, his eyes meeting Rose's, and she felt that familiar electricity gently prick her skin as it zinged between them. She tried to think of some funny and memorable thing to say but couldn't, so she gazed toward the sea instead.

"Rose, I'm really glad you didn't go to Bella Island," she heard Dimitri say after a while. "Otherwise we never would have met."

Rose felt her cheeks grow rosy, not because she was feeling weird or embarrassed or anything but because, at that very moment, she was thinking the exact same thing.

**well.. there we go.. another chapter :) and another on the way! i will see you guys next week! :)**


	8. Chapter 8

_**Previously:**_

_**"Rose, I'm really glad you didn't go to Bella Island," she heard Dimitri say after a while. "Otherwise we never would have met."**_

_**Rose felt her cheeks grow rosy, not because she was feeling weird or embarrassed or anything but because, at that very moment, she was thinking the exact same thing. **_

"I'm telling you Pop. It's too much," Mason said at the family's table in the store the next morning as Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong sang to each other in the background.

"Between the walk-ins and the call-ins Eddie and I can't handle it alone-even with rose making all the deliveries."

"Yeah," Eddie agreed just as he was about to bite into a huge cannoli.

"You can't have pastries for breakfast," mum said, joining them at the table. She swiped the cannoli out of Eddie's hand and replaced it with peppers and eggs on a roll. "Eat this. You need the protein," she said and sat down nest to rose.

Rose took a sip of orange juice and took a bite out of her English muffin as she listened to her family contemplate hiring another employee. Only a few days in and she could already see the problem. Business had been growing steadily ever since the Italian scallion appeared as a 'must do' in a popular magazine last spring. Now that the summer and the tourists were here, it was getting harder and harder to keep things under control.

"We'll put an ad in the paper tomorrow," mum said, "and a HELP WANTED sign in the window. I'm sure one of the local kids needs a job."

Dad nodded. "I just wish we could get someone from the family. what about your second cousin, Angela?" he asked mum. "she has a daughter, don't she?"

"Yes, but lily is eight dear," mum replied.

"Oh." dad tapped his chin with his finger. "Who else can we think of?"

It was about then when rose lost interest in the conversation. Her mind drifted back to the awesome time she'd had hanging out with Dimitri on the beach yesterday and how his piercing eyes had seemed to drink in her every word. They'd discussed a million topics ranging from their favorite subjects in school to how they both loved pepperoni and black olives on their pizza but were completely opposed to anchovies, to their debate on whether or not pro wrestling could be considered a real sport, considering it was totally scripted. Rose didn't think so, but Dimitri pointed out that getting body-slammed by two-hundred-fifty pound guy in a speedo has got to hurt, even if you know its coming.

Then rose had received a call from mum, wondering where she was, and Rose and rocky had to head back home for supper. before parting ways, she and Dimitri exchanged cell numbers and e-mail addresses and had made plans to meet with their rollerblades today at the war memorial park on Pelican Island.

Her deliveries went by in a blur, so much so that she was surprised to find that by the end of the day she had made twenty-five dollars in tips!

On the way home Rose shot Dimitri a quick text:

**Be there in ten!**

She found her old rollerblades in the back of her closet, next to a baton and a green sparkly mermaid costume she'd worn marching in her first- and last- bait 'n' tackle festival parade when she was twelve. The festival occurred every summer, but rose had decided that wearing a mermaid costume once in a lifetime was enough for anybody's memory book. In fact, she kind of wanted to forget about it, but unfortunately her parents had stored the moment in time in their video camera.

Rose pushed aside the costume. Grabbed her skates, dusted them off, and threw them in a backpack before heading out. She found Dimitri sitting on the edge of the center fountain, all skated up and ready to go. He waved when he saw rose approach.

"Don't say I didn't warn you," he said as she sat next to him and pulled on her rollerblades. "I haven't done this in a while."

"Me either. We'll go slowly." She put her sneakers into her bag and slipped it over her shoulders. "Ready?"

"Yup." Dimitri stood gingerly, taking her hand, and the two of them pushed off on the pavement.

_Good thing I'm wearing wrist guards, _Rose thought, well aware of her increasingly sweaty palms squishing around underneath them. It didn't take long for Rose to notice Dimitri was an awesome blader. He flipped easily between skating backward and forward along the path around the park while rose concentrated on staying upright as they chatted about music and their favorite bands.

"A couple of buds and I thought we were so cool for listening to all this old stuff," Dimitri was saying. "We even started our own rap group called Beastieface. Kind of like a homage to old school Beastie Boys."

"Before or after they went all Tibetan Buddhist?" Rose asked.

Dimitri spun in front of her so they were face to face. "Wait. You like the Beastie Boys, too? He asked impressed.

"Totally," Rose said nodding. "I'm into all kinds of music. Well, except for Ashlee Simpson. I don't know. Maybe I'm allergic."

"I hear that," Dimitri said, flipping forward again as they began an incline.

When the two of them reached the apex, Rose stopped and gazed at the winding slope falling down on the other side. She looked back the way she came, which was almost as steep. _Now I remember why these things were catching dust in the closet, _she thought, kind of hoping that Dimitri would suggest they walk down.  
"That's a nice ride," Dimitri said clearly wanting to go down.

Rose could hardly wimp out now. She'd just have to go with it. "Last one down to the bottom id a Beastieface," she said playfully before pushing off and going for it.

_You can do this, _she thought as she rolled down the pavement faster and faster. _Don't be afraid of the speed… just- _ "Whoa!" She flapped out her arms, adjusting for a sudden balance issue. Then, gaining momentum and a little confidence, she crouched her upper body like a slalom skier and went even faster. "Yeahhhhhhhhhh!" she yelled, actually enjoying herself for a second. But before she knew it, her ankles were shaking from the speed and she was losing control. "Ahhhhhhh!"

"Brake! Use your brake!" Dimitri shouted from behind her.

Rose tried to push her left leg forward but instead of stopping, she totally wiped out. She dove for the grassy meadow to her right. Unfortunately it wasn't as soft as it looked. "Ungf!"

"Rose!" Dimitri swirled down the path after her, cutting a right at the meadow. He tripped over when his wheels met the grass, and he landed face first at Rose's feet. "Ungf!"

"You okay?" she asked.

He rolled onto his back and looked at her. "Yeah. You?"

"Yeah," Rose said, sitting up and rubbing her elbow. Then she fell back down onto the grass and propped her left skate on her right knee a bit too hard. "Ow!"

Dimitri cracked up.

"Hey, no laughing!" Rose said, swatting him lightly on the arm. "I feel silly enough for wiping out like that."

"At least you did it with style," Dimitri commented. "Seriously. You were, like, in warp speed going down that hill."

Dimitri's eyes sparkled as he grinned at her, and Rose found herself wanting to touch his face… wanting to know what it felt like to kiss him. "I guess I was," she whispered.

He leaned in closer and gently brushed a piece of grass from her hair.

_Does he want to kiss me? _Rose wondered. The excited butterflies seemed to escape from her stomach and flutter down her arms and legs. She hoped he did.

"Hey, want to get some ice-cream?" Dimitri asked, pulling away. "I saw an ice-cream truck by the park's entrance." He rolled into a sitting position and flicked off the wheels of his skates, leaving him wearing a pair of cool looking boots.

"Sure," Rose replied, a little disappointed. Could it be that Dimitri just didn't like her like that? Or maybe he didn't feel as if it was the right time and _place_ for a first kiss.

**Things are getting steamy! Hope you guys enjoyed **

**Review 3**


	9. Chapter 9

**AN: PLEASE READ?**

**Hey everyone! :) I just wanted to say thank you so much for all the reviews people have written. Someone reviewed asking what got Dimitri into military school. Well, I don't know a lot about the military or the army so I guess Dimitri is just there because his parents enrolled him. They travel a lot so he had to have some place to stay while still being educated properly. I hope than makes sense. And also, in this story Rose isn't really the badass girl we all know she is, she's a lot more toned down and sweet I guess, I've read a lot of stories about rose being the rebel and I guess I just wanted to see her with a different personality. Anyways, thank you again and I hope you like this chapter :)**

She glanced around. The park wasn't crowded, by any means, but there_ was _the occasional bike rider flying down the path and a group of about six kids were kicking around a soccer ball on the other side of the meadow.

Or maybe he really _did_ have a sudden uncontrollable desire for soft-serve. Rose could relate. She was sometimes that way when it came to Nutella sandwiches.

Dimitri grasped Rose's hand to help her up and held on to it all the way to the park's entrance. His hand felt a little clammier than hers, but strong, and Rose decided to forget about what the whole hand-holding thing might mean and to just enjoy it.

With ice-cream in hand, they sat on a low wall slurping on their cones and enjoying the early evening sun.

"This park is pretty nice," Dimitri commented, and Rose had to agree.

"I never really think of coming here," she admitted. "Usually my friends and I just hang out in Richfield."

"It's a great place for people watching," Dimitri added, which was also true. From where they were sitting they could see across the Pelican Island Bridge and watch a light crowd of passersby in every shape and size.

Rose guessed that the strollers by the pier were tourists, while the more hurried people were clearly on their way home from work. a girl with blonde ringlets of hair seemed to be in a super rush, weaving in and out of the crowd, then marching purposefully across the bridge.

Rose groaned when she realized that the girl was Mia, and that she was almost right on top of them. She hid her face behind Dimitri's shoulder until Mia had passed. "All clear?" she asked.

"Hiding from someone?" Dimitri asked. "Who was that?"

"Just some girl," Rose started, but then thought that if things went well with Dimitri the story would probably have to come out sometime. "We used to be friends, that is, until I got a scholarship to Richfield Academy for Girls. Now she, like, totally hates me for some unknown reason."

"You got a _scholarship_ to the Academy?" Dimitri asked, amazed. "Wow, you must be a superbrain," he said.

Rose wasn't sure if he was impressed or turned off by her smarts. "It's no big deal," she said, wanting to change the subject.

"Yes, its is," Dimitri went on. He leaned in and gave her a nudge. "I'm impressed."

_Cool! _"Thanks," Rose said. "So how come you know so much about the Academy?" she asked, curious.

"I guess i know a few people who go there," Dimitri said with a shrug.

"Really?" Rose said. She was just about to ask who when the theme song to _Rocky _ jingled in her backpack.

"Let me guess," Dimitri said with a laugh. "Your dad?"

"The one and only." Rose reached into her bag and felt around for her phone. She found it underneath her skates and pulled in out just before the music stopped. "Hey dad," she said, answering it.

"Rosie, your mama wanted me to remind you. Come by the store in ten minutes. Give us a hand with closing. Okay?" Dad asked.

"No problem dad," Rose said. "See you in a few." She flipped the phone shut.

" I guess that means you have to go," Dimitri said.

Rose nodded. "But we can pick up where we left off tomorrow, if you want." She took one final lick of her ice-cream cone, then dumped the rest in a nearby bin.

"Can't," Dimitri admitted. "I've got stuff to do, but how about Saturday? We can do something a little different, you know?"

"Oh?" Rose raised her eyebrows.

Dimitri held up his hands in defense. "No rolling on a bunch of tiny wheels though, i _swear_."

"Good." Rose stood there for a moment, waiting for his cue on the goodbye. She didn't know if she should casually lean in and kiss him on the cheek or give him a friendly hug or handshake or another wave...

Still no cue...

"Well, um, I guess I'll go now," she said, hoping he'd get the hint.

"Right," Dimitri shoved the rest of the cone in his mouth and stood. "I should probably go home too," he mumbled through a mouth full. "See you Saturday." He gave her a friendly little punch on the arm, then turned to cross the bridge. "I'll call you."

"Later." Rose turned the opposite direction and headed to the store, a bit confused by Dimitri's gesture. _A punch?_ As far as taps on the arms were concerned, Rose had no idea if Dimitri was meant to say: "Sorry, just a friend," or :I really like you but I'm trying to be cool about it." _Well, at least it was some sort of body contact_, she thought. _That's got to be good, right?_

When she arrived at the Scallion, Rose found her father humming along to an ancient Frank Sinatra tune on the radio as he scrubbed down a stainless steel counter.

"You're in a cheery mood dad." Rose picked up a sponge and some Windex and started spraying down the outside of a refrigerated deli case. "What's up?"

"Oh, we found someone to work in the store, and we didn't put no ad in the paper." He turned and did a little cha-cha toward her in time with the music. "I'm so happy there's not gonna be a stranger in here." He grabbed her hands and swung her around. Despite his girth dad was an amazing dancer. So was mom.

Rose ran through all the nearby relatives in her mind as she accidentally crushed her father's toes. "Is it Aunt Josie?"

"No."

"Uncle Nico?"

"Nope."

"Cousins John, Thomas or Robby?"

"Eh, are you kidding me?" Dad asked with his palms together and shaking them at her, as if this was the most insane concept she'd ever come up with.

Rose was really curious now. "Then _who_?"

Just as she asked, a flicker of movement caught in her peripheral vision. Rose turned to find her mom in the kitchen doorway, resting her hands on the shoulders of a girl with familiar curly blonde locks.

"Look who's going to be working with us this summer," mom said happily. "It's your friend Mia! Isn't that great?"


End file.
